God’s Plan for Parenting: A Generational Strategy

Sermon Transcript

Well, good morning. Will you help me welcome our Westminster, Colorado Springs and online campus who are worshiping with us. It is so great to worship with all of you today. I want to remind you we have an exciting week coming up. If, you know, on Thursday night, my good friend Seth Gruber will be here showing his 1916 project video.

We'll be doing some Q and A afterwards, taking place on all three of our campuses. We're not able to broadcast it online, but invite you to come. It's free of charge, but if you sign up online, it lets us know about how many people are coming. Also, a week from today, we start 21 days of prayer. As a church, we do this twice a year.

We start in January with 21 days of prayer and fasting. In the fall we do 21 days of prayer. The purpose of these days is that you'd fall more in love with Jesus. We're gonna be giving specific emphasis during this season to the loss and praying for the loss and interceding for the loss. So I invite you to come starting next week.

Not this week, but next week. Every Monday through Friday, we'll be on all of our campuses, 630 to 730 in the morning. On Saturdays, eight to nine, and then we'll be praying together as a congregation for those 21 days. Now, I just want to share a little pastoring moment with you. Last week, while you had a chance to hear my pastor, Pastor Cal, I was watching online.

I've heard every story. I cried just as much this time listening to them as I did last week when I was listening to him. And I know you were blessed, but while you were doing that, I was in Canton, Ohio, because one of our very own that attends Brave Church, Randy Greticher, was being inducted into the Pro Football hall of Fame as one of 378 men to do that. Now, what makes that special is not just that award, but Randy took the time not only to mention brave church and what he's learned here in our Nehemiah series, but he didn't weave the gospel into his talk. He preached the gospel and wove football into his talk.

It was so good that I even saw on Twitter this week that even Franklin Graham gave shout out to Randy Gratischar. So, Randy, I want to give a shout out to you. Thank you so much for honoring the Lord with the platform that you have. It's cool. We love you, appreciate you.

Amen. Randy and Beth loved Jesus. It's interesting, my wife asked me afterwards because I was overwhelmed. It was really cool. She said, what'd you think?

I have no job security anymore because Randy can preach. So that was really good. So with that, let's continue our worship this morning by going before the Lord and getting ready to hear his living and active word among us. Would you pray with me? Our father in heaven, we give you all the glory, all the honor and the praise for who you are and for all that you do.

And, Lord, we thank you as a people because we believe that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you are speaking. So our prayer this morning is speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear what you have to say. And so now for all those who have gathered who desire to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak directly to you, who will believe what he tells you and who will, by faith, put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word amen? Amen. I've really been enjoying this family's fortified series.

And I would tell you from the onset, prior to being married, I thought I was a marriage expert. My wife and I had counseled people. Even as singles, we would counsel married couples. We'd come back and be like, what's their problem? It's so easy to figure this out until you're married, and then you realize very quickly you're not a marriage expert.

But we also thought prior to having children, we were parenting experts. We had all sorts of great plans for our kids. And I remember telling my wife, before my first child was born, a daughter, you know, hey, we gotta be strict from the beginning. We've read all the books. She's gotta go to her crib.

She's gonna cry herself to sleep. We gotta let her know who's boss. From day one until the day we got her home from the hospital and she was on a bassinet on my side of the bed, and I was down on all fours making sure she's breathing and every whimpered changed me because I didn't know what it was like. And you know what it's like when you have your first child and your friends want to hold them and you're like, hey, have you washed your hands? Are you sanitized?

Have you been sick in the last two months or anything like that? And then by the time you have your third child, they cry. Cause they spilled some watermelon in the sandbox. You're like, don't worry about it. Just eat it.

It's fine. It's just sand, right? I mean, we change our dynamic as we continue to grow. And just because of that, I mean, that's what happens, too. When it comes to parenting, there's so many things that we can talk about.

And when it comes to parenting, like how do you discipline and how do you love, and how do you do all these different things? And there's all these different books written with all these different techniques. And some of them can be very helpful and fit your family. But what we want to talk about today is what does God say about parenting? And what's his God given strategy for the next generation?

So that no matter who you are, you can apply these principles to your life. If you're planning on being a parent someday, these will apply to you. If you are a parent, they apply. If your kids are grown, they still apply. Because as we're going to teach the things of God, you're going to want to know what God has to say to you.

And just like every marriage that comes together between a husband and a wife, their specific role to the men that they're supposed to be and to the wife that they're supposed to be. But it doesn't mean that every marriage looks the same. The same is true with parenting. Not every parenting situation looks the same. But there are principles that we're called to live by.

And it's important that we understand, understand this, because if we get too much in the minutiae and say, well, I'm not going to do that, or I'm going to do that, everything's dynamic. It can change. I remember when Kim and I, we got to eat when we were just newly married, and we'd see one of those couples and their kids would be rambunctious, and we'd be like, that will never be our kids until we had them. And I was like, go ahead and run around. Do whatever, you know what I mean?

So we want to talk about principles, like, what's true for every single family, what's true whether you're raised in a christian home or not. Like, why did God establish the family? What is he doing? And what can you do? And how can you grow?

So my prayer is that as you listen to these four principles this morning that we're going to spell out from deuteronomy, chapter six, you'll be able to grow in them and apply them. And just as we've talked, there's no perfect husband. There's no perfect wife. There are no perfect parents. So as you feel conviction, that's the Lord going to challenge you this morning to come back to him, to be renewed and refreshed so that you can grow in what it looks like for you to be a.

So I invite you to open up your bibles to deuteronomy six. We're going to talk about four principles that God has strategy, that he has a generational strategy so that you can be the parent that God designed you to be. Now, while you're turning to deuteronomy chapter six, let me just remind you of a couple things. In Genesis chapter one, as we talked about, God brings Adam and Eve together, and the first command he gives them as a husband and wife is what? Be fruitful and multiply.

Why? Because God wants more image bearers. Because God wants more children that are going to grow up and populate the earth and give him more glory. That's the purpose of the family. It's the number one disciple making unit on the planet.

God designed the family. And what he tells us in Psalm, chapter 127, verses four and five, is what he thinks about children. He said, behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior. So are children's children of one's youth.

What does God call children? They're a blessing. They're not a burden. They're not a curse. Children can be difficult sometimes.

Children can be unruly sometimes. And the reason is because parents, they have your sinful DNA. But at the end of the day, they are a blessing, and we need to see them as such and treat them as such. Let me say this. Your children are not your children.

They are God's children that you are called to steward for him. That's why he tells us in proverbs 22 six, train up a child in the way he should go. And when he gets older, he will not depart from it. Even in proverbs chapter six, he gives us some instruction as we're setting this teaching up this morning in proverbs six, starting in verse 20, he says it like this. My son, observe the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

Why bind them continually on your heart? Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you. When you sleep, they will watch over you. And when you awake, they will talk to you.

What's the purpose of a parent? Purpose of a parent is to lead kids in the way of God. In order to be a good parent, you must recognize this first. You first and foremost are a child of God. And you need to be a child of God and respond to God the way he wants, or you can't parent the way God wants you to parent.

And here's the reality. If you miss anything else that I'm going to say, and you miss all four principles, and you think, I don't get it all, what do I do? Just apply this one principle if you're a parent, and it'll go a long, long way, love your children. Just love them. I was a youth pastor for a long time, and I pastored kids that were from very strict homes and from kids that were from very hands off kind of homes and everywhere in between.

And the one thing that I would say about the kids that grew up with a great self confidence and were okay in the world is if that child knew they were loved by their mom and dad. That child washing. Okay. So if you miss anything in this message, just love your kids. Love your kids.

But I believe what God wants us to do is he wants to spell out what does it look like to be a good parent. And here's the reality, before I even get started. In order to share these with your kids, in order for your kids to become these things, guess what, parents? You have to be it first. You can't ask your child to do something that you currently are not doing, or it will cause them to be angry.

So this is for us as parents. For how do we grow into the things of God so that we can be used of him to empower the next generation. So with that, let's turn to deuteronomy, chapter six, and hear the word of the Lord. And take a look at these four principles for a generational strategy in God's plan for parenting. The first thing that God tells us to do is to train your children to fear and obey God.

To fear and obey God in order to enjoy his promises. Notice what he says. Now, this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord, your God, has commanded me to teach you that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it. So Moses tells him, God has given me the commands I've been giving you the law. The reason God's giving you this law is because when you're about ready to take the land that he's going to give you and everything he's promised you in that land, on this side of heaven, on the earth, here's how God wants you to live.

Parents, these are not suggestions. These are not. See if you want to do these. These are commandments. These are statutes.

These are precepts. This is what God requires of all parents on this side of heaven. So this is what he says. He says to do them in the land. Why?

So that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God. So why are you to parent? Well, not just for your own kids, but for their kids. It doesn't matter what kind of home you grew up in. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ now, you can change the trajectory of coming generations for the choices that you make now so you don't have to play a victim.

I mean, you may have had a bad hand that was dealt, but God's still sovereign in the bad hand that you were dealt. And God can restore the years the locusts have eaten. So if you'll apply these principles in your life, God can change the course of your trajectory for the next generations that are coming. Your sons, their sons, their sons, sons, generations. So you're not just parenting for 18 years to get your kids out of the house, even though sometimes that's how it feels.

You're parenting for your kids, kids and their grandkids, so that in generations to come, the Lord Jesus Christ is still being exalted in your family line. That's what it means to be a good parent. So he says, we want your kids to what? So they might fear the Lord. Fear the Lord?

Now, what does it mean to fear the Lord? It means to fear the Lord. Now, we know God is an all loving God. We also know God is an all just God. Right?

And the pendulum has swung in church history, where sometimes we're hearing about Jonathan Edwards, sinners in the hands of an angry God. And God's mad at you every single second. And you're just hanging like a spider web over the threshold of hell, about ready to burst into hell if you don't repent. And then the pendulum swings. God loves you no matter what you do, and it doesn't really matter because you're in a God of love.

And it swings back and forth, even though God is both loving and just. And that's what he demonstrated with Jesus Christ on the cross. Where do you think our culture is today? Our culture is on the love side. We have a lot of kids growing up in church where they think it doesn't matter what I do, it doesn't matter who I am.

God's job is to love and bless me. And I'm here to tell you it's not. And the Bible says in proverbs one seven that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Parents, you need to understand this just like your kids need to understand this. Every thought, word, and deed that you have, you will answer before the Lord Jesus Christ for all of it.

Every decision you make, every thought that you have and take captive, you answer for that before the Lord Jesus Christ. Our children need to understand that even when we're not there and they cheat or they lie or they steal, even if I don't see them as a parent, our God sees them. And they have to answer to that God. That's why you as a parent need to develop healthy consequences. Cause if there are no consequences to you as a parent, then they'll never understand that there's consequences to a holy God.

And there are consequences because those who refuse to repent and believe the gospel will be eternally punished for their choices. And so, as parents, we need to understand that we serve someone greater than ourselves, that the Lord Jesus Christ is commander in chief of the universe, and that we answer to him, and we're called to fear him and obey him. To do what? To keep all his statutes and commandments, which I command you. How long?

All the days of your life. And that your days may be prolonged. So how long does God want us to fear him? How long does God want us to obey him? Every single day of your entire life.

Do I get to take a day off? Do I get to lie, cheat or steal? Do I get to be immoral for a season? You don't get to take days off. Notice, verse three.

O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you in a land flowing with milk and honey. Now, when I would hear these scriptures as a kid, I always pictured, like in Israel, there was like a, a waterfall of honey and milk, right? That's not what it means. It means that in this land that I'm going to give you that you had nothing to do with, it's going to have everything you need. It's going to have cows, it's going to have goats, you're going to have milk, it's going to have honey, you're going to have sweetness, you're going to have everything you need.

And you didn't do anything to get it. But I'm going to bless you. And when I bless you, here's what I'm asking. I'm asking you to fear and obey me because I am God and I'm worthy of it. And here's the reality.

Our God is an incredibly loving God. But it is going to be amazing when we get to see Jesus Christ in all of his glory, because even John the apostle in the book of Revelation, who had spent three years with Jesus on the earth, when he sees him in all of his glory, he falls at his feet as though he's dead. You know why? Because he's terrified, and yet he feels the love. We need to understand that as parents, every decision that we make, we are accountable for children.

You need to understand every decision you make, you're accountable for. And we need to teach people the fear of the Lord, because the fear of the Lord is what brings wisdom. If there really is a God out there, which there is, and if that God really is Jesus Christ, which he is, and that God is really going to hold you accountable, which he is, then you need to live your life knowing that one day you're going to be held accountable for everything you do, say and think. And most of our kids don't think that way. And the reason they don't think that way is because you don't think that way.

But the reality is that's what God wants us to do. And then when we fear and obey God, we get to enjoy his promises. Psalm 34 eight says, o, taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. There are blessings for those who fear and obey the Lord.

Jeremiah, chapter 17 and verse seven says it this way. It says, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. When you trust the Lord, when you fear the Lord, when you obey the Lord, you are blessed. Because what does God promise? What are some of the promises in the word for those who fear and obey the Lord?

Well, there's strength for the weary. There's rest for your soul. There's the God who promises to fight for you. There's wisdom when you ask. The devil will flee from you.

He'll forgive and cleanse all of your sin, never leave you or forsake you. Those are promises to those who fear and obey the Lord. So if you want the promises, if you want to see God move on your behalf, that's the prerequisite. So here's the question, parents. Do your kids see you fear the Lord?

Do they see a fear of the Lord in your life? Do your kids see your obedience to the Lord? Have they ever watched you change? Have they ever seen you make a decision because they know that you know that you're going to answer to God for the way that you behaved. Do they see that?

Do you model that? Do you live that? Because if you're going to parent that, then you need to live it out. You need to let your kids see that you're afraid of Jesus. Like, this is why I'm making that decision, because I know that I got to answer to God for the decision I make or if I'm an authority seal over my kids because they're still in my roof.

I'm making this decision because I'm more terrified of God than making you happy. But I'm going to make the decision that God wants me to make, even if you don't like it, because I'm more scared of him than I am of you. Do they see that in your life? Do they hear you talk that way in your life? Do they watch what you do in your life?

See, if you have a healthy fear of the Lord, you'll do what God wants you to do. If you're married, you won't get divorced. Not because it doesn't feel good or feel you know why you won't? Because you know, you gotta answer to God for how you treat your spouse, because you know you gotta answer to God for how you raise your kids. Cause you know you gotta answer to God for the employment that you have.

You know, you have to answer to God for how you steward your finances. You know, you had to answer to God for how you treated the body that he gave you. I mean, everything gets an answer. You don't just get to passively stand by and say, well, God's just good. He'll forgive me no matter what.

No, he won't. He wants your full allegiance. And so we need to train our kids to fear and obey the Lord. And if you do, then you can say things like this. If God is for us, then who can be against us?

If you're living in the fear and obedience in the Lord, if God's for you, man, who could ever come against you? Obedience is important. We don't talk about it enough in church. We think, well, it's just grace. It's just grace.

Yeah. Grace will make up where you don't hit the mark. And none of us are perfect, I get that. But obedience is required. In John 1423, Jesus answered and said, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word.

And this means he's going to obey me. And my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word which you hear is not mine, but the father who sent me, here's who. Jesus makes his home in those who obey him, those who fear him, those who do what he wants.

We have too many people in church. Did I pray it right? Did I do it right? Am I sure? Am I not?

Here's how you know you did it right. Because there's a hunger in you to do the things of God correctly. And when you miss the mark, which we all do, there's a desire to confess and repent and change. And I don't want to stay here anymore because I want to honor God, and that's what I want to do. Are you training your kids to fear the Lord?

Are you training to obey the Lord? Are you training them in that every decision that they make, you should do it knowing that you're going to stand right before the Lord. Cause if your kids get that and even if they pay attention, you don't think they're paying attention. They get it. It means you don't have to go on every date with them because they know when they're on their date, they have to give an answer for how they date.

When they get a job, they have to give an answer for how they work at that job. When they receive resources, they have to give an answer. It's not you they're answering to. You're just the temporary steward of these children that don't belong to you. They belong to the Lord.

And how you're managing them for him until he can take over. And the sooner you can put them into God's hands, the better. Amen. So to be a good parent, it means we must fear and obey the Lord to enjoy his promises. Are you living obediently to the Lord?

Do you fear the Lord in your life? Or is that an area where the Holy Spirit's convicting you that you need to grow? Cause you can't tell your kids to fear and obey the Lord if you don't. It's like telling them to not smoke while you're taking a drag of a cigarette, or don't drink while you're getting drunk, or don't speed while you're going 100 miles an hour down I 25. You can't ask them to do what you're not doing.

It will just cause anger. And isn't it interesting sometimes how the Lord shows us the things that our kids need to change, but he's really showing us what we need to change through our kids because we have to discipline them for the things they're doing wrong? But really what God's doing is showing us where we need to change. I remember when my kids were young when they experienced physical discipline, and they would be like, well, how come you and mom never get spanked? And we would say, we get spanked all the time.

Because God's constantly showing us ways that we need to change and what we need to do differently as well. Amen. So train your children to fear and obey God in order to enjoy his promises. Second is this. Train your children to hear and love God.

Train your children to hear and love God so they can experience his provisions. Our God is alive. I'm talking about the living God. I'm talking about the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who is as alive today as he's ever been. He speaks.

You can hear him. He speaks through his living and active word. You can hear him. You can love this God. You can be in relationship with this God.

Do your children know how to hear him? Do your children know how to love him? Notice what he says. He says, hear, O Israel, verse four. The Lord is our God.

The Lord is one. Hear. That means, listen to God. Hear him. He's alive.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. What does it mean to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind? In the new testament, one of the religious leaders comes to question Jesus and says, what's the greatest commandment? Remember what Jesus answers.

He goes right back here, says, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second's like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the prophets, all the writings, all the teaching of the law hang upon these two. Right.

So what does it mean to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind? Well, your heart is the seat of your passions. It's the seat of your emotions. It means that I'm going to submit all my feelings and emotions and passions to the authority of the word of God. My feelings and my passions and my emotions don't dictate my choices.

When I'm depressed and discouraged, I don't just say, well, I'm going to do that because I'm depressed and discouraged. When I'm overjoyed and thrilled, I don't just say what I'm going to do. I get to submit all of that to the Lord Jesus Christ. I get to submit everything to him. Or what about my soul?

My soul is the place of my will. It's my volition. I'm going to love him with all my choices, it means I submit all my choices to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every decision I make in my life according to the word of God should not be my choice. It should be God's.

Who I marry, where I live, how I steward my money, how I act in a certain situation, how I respond to people who hurt me, how I pray for others, all those are not what I would want to do, or not what my flesh would say I do. It's how do I make a choice that God would want me to make based upon what his word says? Because this is what he tells me to do in this situation. So I'm going to make a choice that God would want me to make, even if it doesn't feel right, and even if it's not the choice I want to make. And isn't it true that Jesus Christ came on purpose to die on the cross?

He came to seek and save the lost. And yet, on the night he was betrayed, as we learned yesterday in prayer, on the night he was betrayed, here's what he said. If there's any other way, lead me on that path. I still want to do it, but not my will. God your will be done right?

I want to be obedient with my volition. I want to make sure my choices and what I'm doing and what I'm choosing from me and what I'm choosing for my family is aligned with God. What about our mind? It means submitting my thoughts to the authority of God's word. It's taking every thought obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I can't be lazy in my mind. I can't say, well, I'm going to sit and think these evil thoughts. I'm just not going to do anything with them or I'm going to clown around with this in my head. No, I'm going to take every thought captive to make sure even the things that I'm thinking about obey the Lord Jesus Christ. And what I see and what I look at, all those different things in my mind, I'm submitting them to Jesus.

And then the New Testament talks about our strength, love him with our strength. That's our physical bodies that's submitting my body to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. What I see, touched, taste, smell, hear what I sense, it all aligns with the word of God, every part of my being. God's entrusted me with this tent of a body for a period of time. And how am I stewarding that for his will?

I mean, this is what it means to love God. And he's commanding the parents of Israel in this generation to teach them diligently. That means earnestly to your sons. And you shall talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. What's he saying?

He said, this should be what you're talking about all the time in your homes. You should be talking about the Lord Jesus. You should be talking about God. You should be talking about what he requires of you. You should be talking about why it's important to hear what he wants you to do and love what he wants you to do and do what he wants you to do, and to fear him and obey him and hear him and listen to him and do it.

That's most important. And in reality, just rhetorically, think about what you talk about in your house. Think about if we were just to take your children and ask them what's most important to your mom and dad, they would tell us what you spend your time thinking about and what you spend your time talking about. Would they say God's law, God, prayer, the word you say. Well, how are my kids going to hear God?

Well, they're going to hear God when they hear. You talk about hearing God and you hear God through his word. You hear God through preaching. You hear God through studying his word. You hear God through prayer.

Do you read the Bible at all in your home? Or is it just a book that collects dust on a shelf? If your kids are asking questions about school, about friendship, about choices, the Bible is replete with information as to how they can hear what God wants to say about a subject. When you don't know what to do, which will be often as an individual and frequent as parents. Do you pray?

Do you tell your children? I don't know, but we're going to pray about it. We're going to seek the Lord and we believe that he gives wisdom lavishly to those who ask him. And we're going to ask God in this situation what we need to do because it doesn't seem like there's any good way that we can go. But I want you to be a part of this.

So we're going to pray, we're going to read his word, we're going to study this and we're going to hear him. And when we do, we're going to go that way because you got to model hearing and you gotta model loving so that they see an example of it. Because for most of us, it's just like, yeah, you should go to church. Well, why? Well, it's just a good thing to do.

And here's the reality. The reality is, I hear this all the time. I've heard this for decades. One of the statistics says something like this. About 90% of kids that go off to college will lose their faith.

You've heard this before. I say about 90% of the kids that go off to college, that grow up in the church don't have a faith to begin with. It's never been modeled to them to fear the Lord and to honor the Lord. It's never been modeled to them to hear the Lord and love him and be obedient. It's been modeled for them to be religious and go to church.

And then when they go off to college and they have all these non believing friends that are having more fun than they are, they're like, yeah, I've always been in this camp anyway, and this is way more fun. They don't leave the faith. They never had any to begin with because you didn't establish it for them. That's a reality. And so I'm tired of listening to all these kids leave because there's the reality.

You train up a child in the way that they go. They have it in their heart. When they get out there, they'll stand firm for Jesus Christ. Do you know why they'll stand firm for Jesus Christ out there? Because they stood firm for Jesus Christ in here, and they watched it in your life, and they watched you stand firm, and they watched you do it, and they adopted that faith.

And that's the faith they have. And if they have genuine faith, they will never, ever leave the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, no one can snatch them out of my hand. They belong to me. So hear the word love the word amen.

That's worthy of praise to our God.

Do you ever talk to your kids about what you're hearing God say? Do you ever talk to your kids about choices that you're making, to love God, that go against the grain of why you're doing what you're doing? See that God's central to your decision making process, that you're hearing and listening and loving what God wants in order for you to experience his provisions. And when you do that, there's great blessing to that. God tells them, I'm going to bring you into this land.

Notice what he says after he tells them, they shall do all this. Verse eight and nine says, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. If you go to Israel to this day, orthodox Jews will have little phylacteries on their head and on their hands because of this verse. So they have the law right there and right here.

And what Jesus was saying was more than that. What God was saying was more than that. It's not just written so you can have them. They need to be part of your heart. God wants to give you a new heart.

And in almost every doorway in Israel, they have what's called a mezuzah, which has this verse and one other passage of scripture that's on the side of every doorway. So every doorway you past has this verse in it because they take it that serious. What's he saying? Bind them. Let your kids know.

Do your kids even know what the Ten Commandments are? Because if they don't know what the Ten Commandments are, why would they ever want to obey them? Why would they ever fear a God if they don't realize they're going to be held accountable to them? This is why I said do it. Write them down.

Talk about it. Make sure your kids understand these different things. But notice what God says. If you do this verse ten says, then it will come about when the Lord, your God, brings you into a land which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill. And hewn sisters, which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you are to eat and are satisfied.

So God says, you do these things. I am going to prosper you, you honor me, you fear me, you obey me, you love me, you listen to me, you keep doing it, I will bless you in ways that are immeasurable, that you don't even know. Does God bless his saints now? I know it sounds like, oh, it's prosperity gospel. I'm out of here.

Listen, it's not prosperity gospel. I'm not saying be obedient to God and he'll give you a pile of cash. I'm not saying be obedient to God and you'll never get sick. I'm not saying be obedient to God, and every relationship, relationship is going to be perfect. I'm saying this, if you fear the Lord and obey the Lord and listen to the Lord and love the Lord, he will bless you so immeasurably in so many different ways.

His touch of favor is something that you will never, ever want to leave. You will always have more than enough, and that's a fact. And the reason we don't see enough of that with our saints today is that we're not fearing the Lord and we're not obeying the Lord, and we're not listening to the Lord, and we don't listen to love the Lord. We just want the blessings of the Lord. And when we see other people have them, we're like, oh, they're just weird, charismatic people.

No, they're obedient people.

I teach my kids all the time what you want in life is you'd rather have one touch of favor than all the hard work you can ever put in. One touch of God's favor can change everything. I just want to walk and have God's favor in my life. That's all I want. If I have God's favor, I have everything I need.

He'll take care of everything. I know he will. I've watched him do it over and over and over again, and God's given me little special glimpses of his grace. Let me do fun things and participate in fun things. The lie of the enemy is, don't follow God wholeheartedly.

Don't serve him wholeheartedly. If you do, you'll always be robbed of your joy, and you'll never have any fun. If you follow God, you'll be poor. If you follow God, you'll never be able to have sex. If you follow God, you'll never have a good family.

If you follow God, you'll never have a good job. Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. If you follow the Lord, he will take care of everything you need. I remember when I was going into the ministry at the age of 24, and at the time, one of the things I loved to do in the midwest was water ski. I loved water skiing.

And when I was in the job, I was in in sales. One of the reasons I wanted to bank money is I wanted to buy a boat so that I could go water skiing because I liked water skiing. And wouldn't you know it, when I went into the ministry, there were two people in my church that had a boat that invited me to go water skiing. And they paid for the boat and they paid for the gas and they paid for the insurance, and I just got to enjoy water skiing, which was way better than actually owning the boat. And I've seen that over and over and over and over again in my life.

If you just walk with God, he'll bless you in little ways that don't even make sense to anybody else. But you'll see his hand on your life. Say, that's what I want. God, thank you for this. Thank you for that.

And he'll meet all of your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. But it starts with fearing and obeying the Lord. And it starts with hearing and loving the Lord. And it doesn't start with gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. It starts with, I'll submit everything to you.

As long as I have you. I have it all. Do you teach your kids that that's what God wants?

And look at this. I mean, he tells Israel, when you get there, I'm going to give you this land because I promised it. And I'm going to give you this land because I'm faithful. You haven't been. You never will be.

But I am. And I'm good. And when you see that house that you didn't build, I gave it to you. And when you see it filled with goods, I'm the one that filled it up. And when you have water, I'm the one that built the cistern.

And when you have water in the cistern, I'm the one that gave you the water. So keep looking to me and give me thanks. Because I'm the one that gives you every good and perfect gift. Amen. So fear and obey him.

Hear and love him. Let me give you a third one. A third generational strategy that your kids need to understand. Is train your children to honor and worship God. Teach them to honor and worship God to escape his punishment.

Let me explain. God tells them he's going to take them into the promised land. And give them everything that they didn't earn. And he says, notice this in verse twelve. Then watch yourself.

Pay attention to this. That you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall fear only the Lord your God. And you shall worship him and swear by his name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you.

For the Lord your God. In the midst of you is a jealous God. What's he telling? He says, listen, when I bless you, don't forget me. It's easier to serve the Lord.

When we go through times of crisis. You get a call and you realize you have cancer. You get a call and you realize your bank doesn't have enough money in your account to pay the bills. At the end of the month, we start praying your mom gets sick, she's not going to make it. You start praying.

I mean, when desperate times come, we start praying. We're depending, God, get me through the help. Help. When we go through times of blessing and prosperity, you know what? The enemy begins to lie to us and say, look at how good you are.

You know what? You don't really need God anymore. You used to need to go to church, but now you don't need to go. You used to need to read your bible, but now you don't really need to read it. You used to need prayer, but now you can kind of get through on your own.

You are so wise. You are so smart. Look at all you can do. I wish more people could be like you. That's the lie of the enemy and times of prosperity.

And God says, when I give you prosperity, when you see me bless you, don't forget me. I'm who you want. It wasn't the blessings that you want. You want me. I'm what you want.

Why is the Lord, your God, a jealous God? I heard Oprah Winfrey talk about this one time and she said this was one of the verses why she didn't want to follow the Lord. She's like, why would you want to serve a God that's jealous? I'm not even jealous and God's jealous. Why would you want a God like that?

Here's why God's jealous. God's not jealous from a fleshy standpoint. Like we'd be jealous of something somebody else has. Here's what it means. God, who is perfect, who doesn't need us, is jealous for his creation to experience the fullness of everything he created you to do.

And he's jealous for your love. Because our God's perfect. Our God is awesome. Our God is incredible. And our God knows that if you serve him, you'll be the most blessed, blessed you've ever been.

So he's not jealous in a needy kind of way, like, I really need you. I'm so jealous of you. He says, I'm so good and I'm so great and I'm so awesome that if you give me your everything and go all in with me, you'll be the one that's blessed. And I'm so jealous to see you experience everything I designed you for. The Lord, your God's a jealous God.

He wants all of you. He wants your honor. He wants your worship. He wants your praise. Here's the question.

Do your kids see you honor God with your life, not just on Sunday morning? But in all aspects of your life, or is Jesus Christ premier? Do they see it? Do they witness that? Do you talk to them about why it's so important?

Not so much the career path they choose, but in whatever career path they choose, they choose to honor the Lord in that, that it's not such a big deal who they date, but they would date in such a way that their dating would honor the Lord. It's nothing who they marry, but that they marry someone, too, that honors the Lord, that the honor of the Lord is everything. And then do you model worship for your kids? Is church like an afterthought? Like, it's a little rainy today.

I don't know if I can make it. Today's sunny. I think we're gonna go to the mountains. The broncos are playing at 11:00 on Indianapolis. We're not gonna be there.

You know what I'm saying? Or is it no? And dads, let me just talk to you. You get to model it more than anybody because kids are looking to daddy more than they're looking to anybody. Is it a priority for you if it's freezing, sleeting rain, if it's.

We're going to worship the Lord because he's provided for us all week. He's worthy of all of our honor and praise, whether you like it or not. As long as you live in this house, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We're going, I'm going to model for you what that looks like, to sing praise, to open his word and to do what God wants me to do. Because if you don't, here's what you're modeling.

Church is important. If it's good weather, church is important. If there's not a special activity going on, church is important. If sporting events aren't as much of a priority, if we got nothing else to do, or if it's Easter and Christmas, it's a really good time to go. And if you model that, your kids will never worship and honor the Lord because they'll see in you that you don't either.

So how much of a priority is it for you? I mean, this is where it gets convicting for us. Is, are we really doing these things? I mean, all throughout the Bible, it talks about what God does when we don't turn to him, when nations don't turn to him, when nations don't worship him. It says in verse 15 here of deuteronomy six, Lord, your God is a jealous God.

Otherwise, the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will wipe you off the face of the earth. He said you should not put the Lord your God to the test as you tested him at Massa. Massa was where they didn't have enough water. And instead of seeking God, they complained. You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his testimonies and statutes which he commanded you.

You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your father by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken. Now, when you hear this, here's what God is saying. Our God is a loving God. Our God loved you so much that God the Father sent his son to be the savior of the world. Jesus Christ became incarnate flesh because he loves you so much.

Jesus Christ fulfilled the law because he loves you so much. Jesus Christ stretched out his arms on a cross and died for you because he loved you so much. And Jesus Christ got up out of the grave to vindicate and show that he was indeed God's one and only son, because he loves you. And Jesus Christ is willing to bring anybody into relationship with himself who would repent and believe that he's the Christ, the son of the living God, because he loves you so much. But make no mistake about it.

If you don't repent of your sin and you don't trust Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior, you will be eternally punished. Hell is your future. It is for you. We got too many kids today and too many adults today, believe me. No, no, no.

You don't understand. God's got a grace. God's got a love. He loves me no matter what. No, he doesn't.

No, he doesn't. He loves you because he created you. He loves you because you're an image bearer. But if you continue in sin and unrepentance, he's angry at that every day, and he will punish that for all eternity. Why?

Because he loves you so much. And his love and his justice go together. Parents, the reason you discipline your kids is not because you hate them. It's because you love them. The reason God punishes sinners is not because he hates them.

It's because he loves them. Let me give you one other thing, too, so you can know this. I mean, children, hear what I'm saying.

If you are a believer, here's how much God loves you. If you're a believer in Christ. He loves you so much that if you're not going to honor and worship him, he will engineer all sorts of circumstances in your life to get you to come back him. And they're not fun. And those of you that have been a believer for a while may have experienced some of that where you're faced down in pig slop wishing, why did I leave my dad?

Why am I not honoring him? It was so much better when I was just doing it God's way. And then God in his mercy will bring you back. But you don't want to have to go to the pig slop. You don't have to.

If you continue to honor the Lord and you continue to worship his name, you don't have to take the side paths of God's grace bringing you back out of the garbage. You can enjoy the blessing and favor of God. And God has blessing and favor for you. He created you so that you would enjoy him regardless of how he leads you and what path he puts you on. And whether you get martyred like Stephen or whether you're the richest man in the world like Solomon, what difference does it make as long as you have God's presence in your life?

And this is what he's teaching us to do. How are we honoring him? How are we praising him? How are we giving him the best? I mean, yes, God is a God of love.

But Hebrews 1229 and other places in the Old Testament say that our God is a consuming fire.

The picture of Jesus in the book of revelation early on talks about what he looks like and how John, the apostle who spent three years with him, who loved him, who was the beloved disciple when he saw the resurrected Christ and all of his glory, fell at his feet as though dead.

We need to realize that's who we're answering to. And dads, you get to answer first for how you treated your wife and how you raise your kids, because they're not your kids and that's not your wife. That woman belongs to God. Those kids belong to God. And how well did you steward the things he wanted you to do?

That's what makes a God in the family. Let me give you a third one. I'm sorry, a fourth one for this generational strategy, and we'll wind it up. Here's what you need to train your child. Train your child to testify and to trust God in order to encounter his presence.

Teach him to testify and trust God to encounter his presence. Now notice what he says in verse 20. When your son asked you in time coming. Saying, what do the testimonies and statutes and the judgments mean, which the Lord, our God, commanded you? When your sons and daughters come to you and come to your dad and say, why are we going to church?

Why do you believe that book called the Bible? It's so boring. Why are we going to the prayer meeting? Like, why do we have to do all this stuff? Why are we doing that?

He's saying, you better be able to testify. You better be able to give a good reason, rather than it's just what we do as a family. You better be able to speak on behalf of the testimony of what God has done in your life and why it's such a blessing. Not that you have to, but that you get to go, that you get to be a part of this. So here's what he says.

Then you shall say to your son, we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. And the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household. He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which he had sworn to our fathers. So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord, our God, for good always and for our survival as it is today.

It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all the commandment before the Lord, our God, just as he commanded us. What is he saying? Hey, dad, why do we have to do all this law stuff? Hey, son, let me tell you why. Because your granddad and your great granddad and your great great granddad and 400 years of our family were slaves in Egypt, crying out for God to deliver them.

And let me tell you what happened. God sent Moses. Ten plagues rained down on Egypt. God finally let us go. We got out into the wilderness, and yet we got stuck by the Red Sea.

And it looked like it was all over. But God provided a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by the day. And God wrapped that around us and opened up the red sea. We crossed through. And just when we thought Egypt was going to kill us, when they tried to cross through, God closed the Red Sea, killed them all.

We were on the other side, celebrating. That's why we worship our God. And let me tell you something else. Then we didn't have food, and God gave us food. He gave us what was called manna.

And then we wanted meat, so he gave us quail. But then we didn't have enough to drink. So he provided water. We didn't know where to go, so he gave us all the directions. Then when we got where we needed to go, God gave us the law so we know how to respond to him.

The reason we had to wait 40 years before going in is because your granddad didn't do what God told him to do and go in. So we listen to God because God's the one that does everything. And that is our testimony. Amen.

Now, here's the thing. It's good to tell people what God did. It's good to talk about the David and Goliath story and the deliverance from Egypt and when they were in bondage, how God delivered them. But what's your testimony? Because I remember when I grew up, I didn't grow up in a christian home.

I grew up in a christianese home. We did the things. We went to church, we prayed, we talked about God, we read the Bible. I wasn't saved, nor did I give a rip about those things, other than to be good enough to hope my good outweighed my bad in case I died. But I remember when God rescued my life.

And I remember what he's changed in me. And I know what God's delivered me from, and I know what he's brought me out of. And I can testify and have testified, testified to that, to my family and to you. But even more than that, my testimony is ongoing. Like when my kids ask if they were to ever ask, dad, why do we live in Denver?

Hey, let me tell you. Because there was a time when everything was going great back in central Illinois. And God put on my heart and your mom's heart to move out to Denver to start a church when we didn't have any money and we didn't have anybody to come and we had no congregation because he told us to go. And the only reason we're here is because of God's faithfulness. And any good thing you see at brave is because of God.

And everything God's continued to do is because of him. And he's still the same God that you read about in your Bible. And he's doing all those things today. He's putting marriages back together. He's healing people, he's delivering people, he's saving people.

And that's the God we serve. Do you have that testimony? Why are you and mom still married? Because God loves us. Because we love God.

Right? Do you have that testimony? Do you teach your kids to have that testimony? Can your kids say it's because of Jesus? This is why we do what we do.

And then where do your kids see you trust God? Where are you taking steps of faith now? Do they hear about it? Do they hear about what you need to do? And here's where we're trusting God now.

And here's what we're trusting God to do. Do you share that around the dinner table or in your living room or in your family room or in the car when you're driving? And see, these are the things, these are the principles for strategic generational change. It's a generational strategy for all parents, because if this is the grid that you're going to use for all your decisions and you sit down and say, well, who are my kids friends going to be? Well, my kid's friends are going to be those who fear and obey God and those who hear and love God and those who honor and worship God and those who testify and trust to goddess.

And how am I going to pick a school where my kids are going to go? Well, pretty easy. I'm going to pick a school where my kids can go fear and obey God, hear and love God, honor and worship God, testify and trust God. Well, where are my kids going to go to college? I mean, do you see how this grid works?

Who are the families we're going to hang out with? Who are the friends they're going to hang out with? And if you don't use this as a grid, you're tithing your kids to the devil. Well, you know what? I'll just send them over here and they can hang out with these people and they can do whatever they want.

Then don't be surprised when you see the fruit of that down the road. Like this is the grid. And then you as a parent get to answer before God like, hey, how did this help your child honor and worship me the most? And why did you put your child with this person or this teacher or this group of people? How did that help them testify and trust God?

Why would you give them out to somebody that doesn't love God? I mean, these are tough decisions, aren't they? Because we live in a world that says, well, that's not important. What's important is your kids happiness and success. And God would say, no, what's important is their godliness and righteousness and truth.

It depends on the kind of kids you want to raise. Now, does this mean Kim and I have done it perfectly? Heaven's numb. No way does this mean I have conviction even as I'm preaching and putting this message together? You bet I do.

But parents, you're the authority in your kid's life. That means you're going to have the ability to hear and love God. And there's going to be times that you make decisions for your children that they're not going to be happy with. And that's okay. But you make the decision knowing that you're going to stand before God and you're making the decision for them.

Not to make them mad, but you're making the decision for them because you know they're going to stand before God as well. And you want to put them in the best place for them to hear and love God, for them to fear and obey God, for them to honor and worship God, and for them to testify and trust God. That's what you're making decisions for. And if you get a child that can do that, guess what? That'll change their next generation when they get married.

That'll change their kids, their kids kids. And until Jesus gets back, you start producing disciples. Now, what I love about God's word is God gives us a standard. He doesn't waver on his standard. This is what it is.

This is how we all should live all the time. What I also love about God's word is he recognizes we haven't always met that standard. And that's why he sent his son Jesus. So the way we're going to close today is with communion on all of our campuses. And you can begin to pull out the elements and hold them in your hand.

We'll sing this song over, and then our campus pastors will come up and close out our service. But perhaps today the Lord has shown you some things in your parenting that convicted you or shown you more how you can live more righteously or things that you need to do individually in order to train up your child in the way that he or she should go. And you feel conviction. And that's the Lord saying to you, I loved you enough to show you that today. And not only am I showing it to you, but if you'll bring that to me, I will wash that white as snow, and I will empower you for what is to come.

And parents, let me tell you something. I know pastor Cal said this last week, too. Even if you have grown kids, you say, I wish I would have known this 20, 30, 40 years. It doesn't matter. Still got kids.

You're still parenting, still have kids. You're still modeling. And none of us is perfect. We serve a God who is one who promises to be a father to the fatherless one who promises to grow us into all holiness. One who promises to take us from where we are and continue to grow us and make us right with him.

Amen. So as you're holding these elements in your hand and you're feeling conviction this morning in any way, here's what I want you to think about. I want you to think about the cross of Jesus Christ and how he cleanses you from all your sin. It not only cleanses you, but lets you begin to live righteously from this moment on. Amen.

So you prepare your heart any way you want. You can stand, kneel, or sit, but let me pray for you. And then let's hear this song sung over us. God, we give you all the praise, glory, and honor. We thank you for your word today.

We thank you for this supernatural spiritual grid, this generational strategy for how we as parents change the coming generations. Lord, as you convict our hearts, as you show us the truth, Lord, continue to move in our lives. For your glory, we give you all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor. We thank you for your grace. In Jesus name, amen.